hotmtlnovel Chapter 17: One person shakes a country
Chapter 17: One person shakes a country
"You bastard—!!"
In the center of Tai'an City, a furious roar from the top of the Star Gazing Pavilion tore through the night. A young eunuch stood on the eaves, his robes fluttering even without wind. He suddenly opened his eyes, and for the first time, a surge of shock and rage welled up in his usually calm gaze. For the past few days, he had been stationed at the central command, his mind subtly aligned with the protective array of Tai'an City. His spiritual senses, like a spiderweb, permeated every corner of the city, leaving no room for complacency. His purpose was to capture, amidst the tides of ordinary events, that one glimmer of cold, sharp abnormality that might belong to the "Nameless Swordsman of Southern Tang."
If such a person truly intended to remain hidden, how could the ordinary soldiers outside the city possibly detect him? Only someone like him, whose fate had been intertwined with the nation's for centuries and whose spiritual senses were nearly transcendent, might be able to seize the initiative and sense his entry into the city. If the other party were allowed to infiltrate Tai'an City silently and launch a pincer attack—I ask you, besides himself, who among the city's grandmasters and imperial guards could withstand that sword strike head-on?!
At this moment, however, the sword intent belonging to Wu Su was incredibly intense and filled with grief and indignation, like a massive boulder crashing into the calm surface of a lake! With a deafening roar, the entire city's energy was completely disrupted, boiling and churning!
The invisible giant net he had woven by working tirelessly day and night, pushing his mind to the limit, trembled violently under the unreasonable impact of this violent sword energy, revealing countless blind spots and cracks!
"The energy is boiling so fiercely, the turbid waves are surging into the sky... how can I possibly sense that person's whereabouts?!" The young eunuch clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, a chilling shiver rising from the depths of his heart. "If that person is already nearby, how could they possibly let go of such a heaven-sent opportunity? I'm afraid... they would have already entered this Tai'an City like a ghost in the dark night!"
All the careful planning, all the patient waiting, had been destroyed in this utterly foolish internal strife! Overwhelming rage and icy despair intertwined; his gaze towards the depths of the Imperial Observatory was devoid of any warmth, his voice seemingly ground from between clenched teeth, carrying undisguised murderous intent and contempt:
"Zhao Li...you truly deserve to die!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he flipped his hand, and a scroll of bright yellow silk appeared in his palm—a blank edict he had prepared beforehand, capable of urgently mobilizing all troops in the capital region. He concentrated his energy into ink at his fingertips and wrote swiftly in the air, the command completed in an instant.
A general appeared like a ghost in the shadows under the eaves, kneeling on one knee with his head buried deep in the ground.
The young eunuch hurled the edict down, his words flowing like a torrent of arrows, each one carrying immense weight and brooking no argument: "Leave the city immediately! With this order, summon the 'Iron Pagoda' heavy cavalry and the elite armored soldiers of the 'Shence Army' to enter the city at lightning speed to protect the Imperial Observatory! Remember, only these two battalions are permitted to enter the city! Order the 'Iron Wall Battalion' to remain outside the city and keep a close watch on Xu Xiao's 'Great Snow Dragon Cavalry.' Without my personal order, they are absolutely forbidden from setting foot even a single step into the city gates! Anyone who disobeys—will be executed without mercy!"
"Your subordinate obeys!" The general accepted the edict, which still carried a sharp aura, with both hands, kowtowed heavily, and then his figure blurred and disappeared into the night.
When he looked up again, the eaves were empty. Only the howling night wind and the lingering, chilling, and overwhelming anger in the air pressed down like leaden clouds.
The young eunuch's figure had already transformed into a blurry silhouette, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, as he sped towards the place where the sword energy was strongest—the Imperial Observatory.
The night was as thick as ink that couldn't be dissolved. On the deserted streets of Tai'an City, the sound of hooves thundered as a lone rider left everyone in the dust!
Xu Xiao burst out of Yang Taisui's mansion, the ominous premonition in his heart now transformed into a raging inferno. His eyes were bloodshot, and he galloped wildly on his horse, heading straight for the Imperial Observatory—there, the terrifying sword energy soaring into the sky pierced his soul like the desperate cries of his wife.
A hundred paces away from the Imperial Observatory, a dense mass of armored soldiers blocked their path like an iron wall. The torchlight cast a chilling glow on their armor, and the creaking of bows being cocked echoed coldly, freezing the entire street in a menacing atmosphere.
"Halt! His Majesty has decreed that no one is allowed to approach the Imperial Observatory!" A guard rode forward, drew his sword, and shouted sternly, while the archers behind him stepped forward in unison.
Xu Xiao seemed not to hear, his horse's speed undiminished, his voice booming like thunder, particularly chilling in the deathly silence of the night: "I am Xu Xiao, the Grand General of Liyang and a Pillar of State! Who dares to stop me?!"
"Great...Great General?!" Upon hearing the voice, the general was struck dumb. By the flickering firelight, he could barely make out the face of the newcomer and the purple python robe that only those with super-rank merit could wear. He was immediately overwhelmed and his mind was shaken.
"Get out of the way!" Xu Xiao's whip cracked like a black lightning bolt, striking the general's visor with a sharp snap, sparks flying everywhere! The exceptional steed he rode, a dragon steed from Beiliang, neighed like a dragon and took advantage of the tiny gap in the army formation caused by the general's hesitation, leaping across it like an arrow released from a bow!
Three thousand armored soldiers, bows drawn and arrows nocked, yet not a single finger dared to actually pull the trigger! They could only watch helplessly as the lone rider, like a raging dragon or python, resolutely broke through the iron wall, his hooves shattering the bluestone slabs, sending up a series of sparks, heading straight for the depths of the Imperial Observatory.
At the center of the intertwining firelight and sword energy, Xu Xiao spotted the figure at a glance—a figure in the center of the formation, leaning on the famous sword "Da Liang Long Que", his white clothes soaked in blood, kneeling on one knee with his back straight.
"Su'er—!!"
In that instant, Xu Xiao felt as if his liver and gallbladder were about to burst, his vision went black, and it was as if the whole world was collapsing. He had never been so terrified, nor had he ever been so angry.
"Xu Xiao..." Wu Su raised her head with difficulty, the blood still wet on her lips. When she saw her husband galloping towards her on horseback, the deep sorrow in her eyes was even greater than the physical pain she was enduring. She least wanted him to be involved in this situation, but he still came in the end.
In the shadows, Liu Haoshi frowned, inwardly cursing the three thousand armored soldiers on the outer perimeter as utterly useless, unable to even hold off Xu Xiao for a moment. He quietly placed his right hand behind his back, his fingers forming a secret hand seal, his aura subtly connecting with the celestial sphere's earth veins, preparing to unleash the already laid-up killing intent of heaven and earth to deliver the final blow to Wu Su, completely eliminating any future troubles.
"Master Liu! How dare you—!"
Although Xu Xiao was only a second-grade minor grandmaster, and his martial arts cultivation was far inferior to many of the experts present, he had spent half his life traversing battlefields, crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He had witnessed, commanded, and even personally fallen into the traps of countless top figures in the martial world. At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot, and his roar was like a bugle call for a desperate charge on the battlefield, containing the overwhelming murderous aura forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and an undisguised, insane killing intent. It struck out as if it were a tangible force!
Faced with this powerful and ruthless "butcher" general, Liu Haoshi was genuinely startled, and his aura faltered slightly! The killing move he was about to unleash was abruptly halted!
Taking advantage of this split second, Xu Xiao rushed to Wu Su's side, almost rolling off his horse, and opened his arms to tightly embrace her trembling, icy body.
"Su'er! What's wrong with you?! Tell me who it is?! Tell me! I'll kill him! Kill them all!!" Xu Xiao's voice was hoarse and his eyes were bloodshot. His gaze was like a steel knife scraping bone, sweeping fiercely over the familiar or unfamiliar faces around him, all of which were equally cold at this moment.
Wu Su leaned against his firm yet equally trembling embrace, her breath weak. She shook her head slightly, blood trickling silently from the corner of her mouth, dripping onto his dusty python robe: "You... shouldn't have come... go quickly..."
"Zhao Li!!!"
Xu Xiao suddenly looked up, towards the deepest darkness within the Imperial Observatory, and roared furiously with all his might. The sound waves rolled, shaking the nearby roof tiles: "Get the hell out here! Hiding in there scheming against a woman carrying your brother's child, what the hell do you think you are! Come out and see me—!! Come out and see me if you dare!!!"
"Xu Xiao! How dare you address His Majesty by his name and utter such foul language!" From the shadows, Han Diaosi's soft, high-pitched voice, like the hiss of a venomous snake, suddenly rang out, carrying a chilling coldness and a sharp killing intent.
"Han Shengxuan! You castrated dog, how dare you bark at me?!" Xu Xiao cursed back angrily, showing no fear, only boiling hatred.
Xu Xiao continued to curse, from Zhao Li to the Empress, from the officials to the henchmen of the martial arts world, pouring out all the most vicious and contemptuous words he could think of in this deep garden that now symbolized the highest authority in Liyang.
At first, Han Diaosi would still shout a few angry words, but from some point onwards, that cold voice completely disappeared.
A deathly, eerie silence suddenly descended upon the scene. Aside from Xu Xiao's heavy, angry breathing and intermittent curses, the once menacing courtyard of the Imperial Observatory was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even Han Diaosi, the most loyal and duty-bound human-cat who should have immediately stepped in to uphold the dignity of the royal family, stood frozen like a statue, motionless, his gaze fixed on the darkness behind Xu Xiao—a place that should have been empty. Even Liu Haoshi ceased all his small movements, his face ashen, his muscles taut, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Xu Xiao, exhausted from his tirade, had temporarily released his pent-up grief and anger with his roars, and regained his composure. The unusual silence alerted him. He noticed a man dressed in ordinary eunuch's robes, yet with an unusually youthful face, standing silently not far in front of him. This man's aura was almost ethereal, as if he had merged with the surrounding night, the buildings, and even the flowing air; he was easily overlooked unless one looked closely.
"It's him...he's here," Wu Su said weakly in his arms.
Xu Xiao felt a chill run down his spine and slowly turned around to look—only ten steps behind him, he saw that a figure had appeared.
The newcomer was covered in blood, but it wasn't his own; it was a mixture of dried dark red and fresh scarlet, layered together. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and his face appeared exceptionally young, even somewhat pale, in the firelight. His long hair was loose, with a few blood-stained strands clinging to his cheeks. His face was expressionless, indifferent as a timeless glacier, except for his eyes, which shone with an astonishing brightness, calmly scanning the entire scene. Wherever his gaze fell, the air seemed to freeze.
He carried a sword behind his back with his left hand, and held a long, narrow, curved blade in his right hand. The blade was gleaming, reflecting the flickering firelight and radiating a cold, autumn-water-like light.
He looked exactly like the legendary "nameless swordsman" who single-handedly faced an army of 150,000 in the Southern Tang Dynasty and killed Gu Jiantang with his sword.
Today, the people of Tai'an City finally saw his true form.
Han Diaosi stood frozen in place, his three thousand red hairs hanging down at his sides, trembling slightly. Liu Haoshi's face was ashen, and the stone slab beneath his feet cracked silently. The surrounding first-rank experts were even more disordered, and not one of them dared to make a move.
"Please excuse my poor appearance."
The young eunuch standing silently at the front spoke first, surprisingly lowering his posture and forcing a smile that was almost apologetic. Given a choice, he would never want to be an enemy of such a person. At first glance, the "aura" surrounding this swordsman, seemingly incompatible with yet subtly superior to heaven and earth, set off alarm bells in his heart, leading him to conclude that it was "unfathomable, and the price of a life-or-death struggle would be unbearable." If not for his connection to the fate of the Li Yang Kingdom and the compelling circumstances, he would never have shown himself at this moment to confront this formidable opponent.
"Your Excellency has traveled a long way and must be weary from your journey. Why don't we sit down and talk? There may be many misunderstandings about the past of the Southern Tang Dynasty, buried for a long time. If you have any conditions, as long as they do not endanger the foundation of the Li Yang Kingdom, I can act on behalf of Zhao Li and do my best to meet them. War is dangerous and only increases bloodshed. If we can turn hostility into friendship, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Everyone held their breath. Who could have imagined that this young eunuch, who had suddenly appeared before them, whose aura was as deep as the ocean and who seemed to be the last trump card of the Li Yang Dynasty, would be so humble and almost pleading with a "traitor"?
All eyes were focused on the blood-soaked swordsman.
However, the blood-soaked swordsman's gaze didn't linger long on the young eunuch's face; he merely glanced at him indifferently, as if looking at something unimportant. Then, his voice, calm and utterly undisturbed, rang out:
"You think... you can stop me?"
The forced smile on the young eunuch's face vanished instantly, and his eyes turned completely cold, like frost.
"Does Your Excellency truly intend to persist in this reckless course, risking mutual destruction and a lose-lose situation?" His voice regained its icy chill. "Know that this is Tai'an City, not the wilderness of Southern Tang!"
He took a half step forward, and a powerful aura that resonated subtly with the entire city began to rise around him. His voice deepened, carrying an undeniable authority: "Outside the city, in the vastness of the land, I might not be your match. But here, in Tai'an City! If the two of us were to fight without restraint, the outcome would be uncertain!"
He raised his hand, gesturing vaguely around him, as if pointing to the rumbling torrent of armored soldiers entering the city: "If we add to that the elite iron cavalry and crossbowmen of Liyang who are about to encircle us, and all the people from the Imperial Observatory present at this moment..."
"Even if you possess extraordinary abilities, you will likely face certain death today."
"To cultivate to your level is a journey fraught with countless hardships and dangers, a feat rarely seen in this world. Why then, for the sake of a lost kingdom or old grudges, insist on burying your own path to supreme enlightenment? The road ahead is long, so please... cherish it."
His words, employing both soft and hard tactics, coercion and inducement, were both reasonable and persuasive, leaving no room for error.
The swordsman listened quietly, and only after the last word had fallen, and the only sounds around him were the howling night wind and the increasingly unsettling thud of iron hooves approaching from afar, did he slightly raise his eyelids and calmly ask, "Has the time I've bought... been enough?"
The young eunuch's pupils suddenly contracted to needle size!
"If that's not enough," the swordsman continued, even tilting his head slightly as if listening intently, as if appreciating the approaching death symphony symbolizing the strongest martial power of Li Yang, "I can wait a little longer."
"You...you're impervious to reason, you're courting death!" The young eunuch finally paled, all pretense of patience and amiability shattered, his eyes erupting with murderous intent like a volcano, leaving no room for negotiation. "Even if you manage to kill Zhao Li by sheer luck, do you think you'll leave this Tai'an City alive today?!"
"BOOM—!!"
Before he finished speaking, his figure shot into the sky like a cannonball! He wasn't attacking the swordsman, but rather he stood in mid-air above the main hall of the Imperial Observatory, his hands forming a hand seal, and suddenly pressed down!
The entire city of Tai'an trembled violently! The ground rumbled as if an earth dragon were turning over, and the clouds in the night sky surged and gathered wildly, condensing at a visible speed into the outline of a hazy yet enormous hand that covered nearly half of the Imperial Observatory's front courtyard! The hand was not a physical object, but it contained the glorious national fortune and the earth's vein power of the entire city, carrying the immense force of a cataclysmic collapse, and crashed down upon the blood-soaked figure below!
This palm strike borrowed the "momentum" of the entire Tai'an City! It was a "national defense" strike!
The real intention was to buy time, wait for the main army to encircle them, and also to feign weakness and seek peace. Even if they could achieve a pyrrhic victory against such an opponent, the price they would have to pay would be far too high for him, and for Li Yang, to bear.
"Make your move!"
Liu Haoshi, his beard and hair bristling, unleashed his full power with a fierce roar! He stomped his feet hard on the ground, turning the stone slabs beneath his feet into dust. The connected earth vein energy transformed into countless invisible chains, barely perceptible to the naked eye yet incredibly strong, bursting forth from the earth and wrapping around the swordsman's feet, attempting to pin him to the spot!
Han Diaosi let out a shrill cry, no longer concealing himself. The three thousand scarlet threads no longer scattered to harass, but condensed into a terrifying entity as thick as a bowl, resembling a living blood dragon. It tore through the air, emitting a ghostly shrill cry, and pierced straight for the swordsman's vital heart! Wherever it passed, even the light seemed to be dimmed by the sinister energy!
Within the high walls of the Imperial Observatory, dozens of Qi cultivators, who had been preparing for a long time, simultaneously spat out their vital essence, sprinkling it onto the array plate in front of them! Amidst the humming sound, pale golden chains of intricate runes manifested from the void, layer upon layer, weaving into a massive net that sealed off all space in all directions, above and below. It also exuded a heavy, mountain-like pressure, frantically suppressing and eroding the Qi flow of all living beings within the array!
The three top experts, along with the national protection formation that the Imperial Observatory had been cultivating for countless years, launched their attack simultaneously! They had only one goal—to restrict the Southern Tang swordsman's movement and counterattacks at all costs, creating an opportunity for the young eunuch's "National Protection Palm," which gathered the power of the entire city, to deliver a fatal blow!
"Everyone from Longhu Mountain, you are not allowed to make a move."
However, at that moment, a calm and clear voice suddenly rang out. It was not loud, but it strangely overwhelmed all the booming energy, clashing armor, and boiling killing intent in the arena.
Not far away, on the eaves and brackets of a palace, a man and a tiger had appeared.
The Daoist Qi Xuanzhen sat cross-legged on the back of a colossal, exceptionally large, and majestic black tiger. His wide robes and flowing sleeves remained perfectly still amidst the raging, turbulent winds and air currents, exuding an ethereal and otherworldly aura. His gaze was serene, like that of an immortal overlooking the strife of the mortal world, calmly sweeping over the brutal battlefield below.
As soon as he finished speaking, he gently rolled up his sleeves.
A profound and mysterious power, gentle yet overwhelming, arose out of nowhere, like an invisible hand, effortlessly lifting Xu Xiao and the critically injured Wu Su into the air and placing them steadily in an empty space beside the black giant tiger. Then, he drew his fingers like a sword, making a sweeping motion in the air—
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
A series of clear, resonant sword cries rang out! Dozens of peach wood magic swords, which had been hanging behind the high-ranking Longhu Mountain cultivators present, simultaneously detached themselves and flew out, as if commanded by the highest Taoist authority. They transformed into streaks of light, slicing through the chaotic aura and precisely embedding themselves deep into the bluestone ground behind Qi Xuanzhen. The hilts trembled slightly, forming a solemn sword formation imbued with profound Taoist principles. A faint, clear light flowed around it, firmly protecting Xu Xiao and his wife in the center, isolating them from all chaotic energy and malice from the outside world.
"Qi Xuanzhen—!!!"
The young eunuch's roar of shock, rage, and disbelief, like that of a wounded beast, echoed through the night sky above the Imperial Observatory! He struggled to maintain his stance, yet his eyes still blazed with fury as he stared intently at the Taoist priest standing with his hands behind his back on the tiger's back, his eyes practically spitting fire! He had meticulously planned everything, even including this most renowned Taoist master of Longhu Mountain, deeply connected to the Zhao family of Liyang, and considered one of his most crucial trump cards, but he never expected that the other party would choose to betray him at such a decisive moment!
Just as his mind was violently shaken by this completely unexpected and potentially fatal turn of events, and the "Nation-Supporting Palm," which had gathered the power of the entire city, showed a barely perceptible yet real sign of stagnation and dissipation—
"You dare to be distracted in front of me?"
That calm and indifferent voice was like a cold wind from the depths of hell blowing past my ear, so close yet so far!
The young eunuch lowered his head in horror, his heart almost stopping!
The blood-soaked figure, who should have been bound by Liu Haoshi's earth vein chains, attacked by Han Diaosi's blood dragon, and suppressed by the Qintianjian's grand formation, somehow broke free from all constraints. As if teleported, or as if he was meant to be there, he suddenly appeared in the void less than a foot in front of him!
Below, Han Diaosi's crimson blood dragon, imbued with his life's cultivation, pierced through the air, but only struck a slowly dissipating afterimage; Liu Haoshi groaned, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, as the countless tough earth vein chains snapped inch by inch, the backlash causing him to stagger backward!
Liu Haoshi and Han Diaosi—these two beings, who are almost invincible below the level of terrestrial immortals, could not even catch a glimpse of him at this moment.
In the young eunuch's pupils, all he saw was a sharp, gleaming blade that cleaved through the night and rushed towards him.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
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